DILinator

To be fair its better than incessant webcam screenshots that all look the same. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks they basically all look the same!

Dang! I have GOT to get on these bumper cars!!! My current plan (which will probably fall apart, but you've got to at least start with a plan, right?) is to go to Knoebels finally for PPP this year. Here's hoping it pans out this time!

The strangest thing about this whole "The Voyage" debate, is that I'm usually one of the more "pansy" coaster riders out there, quick to call out coasters for being rough. For instance, I blew off rides on The Legend when my friends rode, and wanted me to go on with them last time I was at HW, and there was ERT on it. I just didn't care for how rough it was... But yet, I can marathon The Voyage over and over and over... Go figure! It's just a matter of how every individual coaster strikes each individual person, I guess...

^^ @ your description of Mile High Falls type of rides! And coasterbill! With your Avatar change, I almost didn't recognize you, until your snarky wit! (And, well, it's actually YOU in the Avatar, too, so...)

I like ALL of this Wing Coaster AND GateKeeper love up in there! And yes, I agree specifically about how GK's first drop gives it a big head start on all other Wing Coasters, as it's a fantastic open to any coaster, let alone a Wing-Rider! But your point about the importance of Thunderbird and its smoothness among the rougher HW woodies is also very true, and key. It was a much needed balance for the park, and it fit the bill perfectly!

This is how I feel 100%! I respect the heck out of Lightning Run, and that Chance model in general. Heck, one of those at MiA would be a perfect fit, and a great addition! It's super fun! But the way some people rave about it... And better than Storm Chaser??? Drugs indeed! Storm Chaser is truly a mind blowing experience! I think it's still one of the only coasters (if not the only one) where I literally (proper usage of the word) kept saying "WOW!" involuntarily throughout the duration of the entire ride! I still preferred Lightning Rod in the end for the grandiosity of it, but not by much... SC just does so much, and packs it into such a small and compact ride experience, making it seem all the more intense. Such a great little coaster! I'm fairly certain even the sun would launch it back with a return to sender stamp... Such a steaming pile of horse manure! Roller Skater IS quite fun! Glad you didn't take a pass on that one! Definitely better than your average "kiddie coaster"! Glad you had such a good time at KK! I am definitely looking forward to returning there before too long, hopefully next year when I go to Holiday World again!

Wow! If the reports are true, I may actually give this one a fair shake when I'm down at Morey's in July! (Oh, who am I kidding... I was going to ride it, regardless... )

Yeah, as much as I love all the RMC coasters I've been on, I don't want them to touch The Voyage, honestly! I would have been fine with them having at The Legend, but now that CCI had at it instead, I doubt that's going to happen either.

^Eh... I think the coaster style is about more than just near misses, and even when it comes to those, GateKeeper's are the most impressive, in my opinion. Having been on all four N.A. coasters myself, I rank them as follows... 1. GateKeeper 2. Thunderbird 3. X-Flight 4. Wild Eagle Talk about "not doing anything"... I think Wild Eagle was fun, and its location and view fantastic! But it doesn't really "do anything" much, and certainly does FAR less than the very multi-faceted GK. I know GK is a coaster enthusiasts just seem to love to dog on, but I'll never understand it... I love it every single ride on it, and find it to be incredibly fun - which is what I'm looking for from a coaster! FWIW, I literally have GK and Thunderbird right next to each other in my overall rankings, so they are essentially co-favorites, really.

^It would seem like at the very least, people walking underneath are at risk of being "rained" on, if you catch my drift...

This is by no means a knock on Thunderbird, but I too am a little less "high" on that coaster than most people seem to be. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great, and it's my second favorite coaster there, actually! But I still prefer GateKeeper to it as far as Wing Coasters go, and besides the awesome launch, didn't find the rest of it to bring anything appreciably better to the table than GK. It IS a great complement to the three woodies though, and I look forward to hopefully seeing more steel coasters at HW in the future!

FWIW, I've never visited HW or ridden The Voyage later than May/June, so there may be something to that disparity theory out there, regarding how rough it rides later in the season... As for the second half... It's bat-shizz-crazy, I'll give you that! Like I mentioned earlier... I ride it holding on with one hand, and the other up in the air, like riding a bull - and that's pretty much what it's like! But I just love that out of control, yet I know I'm perfectly safe feeling, and even the amazing Lightning Rod, couldn't quite knock it off its pedestal as my favorite Wooden Coaster! And again, at night...

Seriously, both are definitely worth trips, just on their own merit!

^That was my thought as well! He'll be thinking it's just par for the course for LaRonde!

I don't know if you saw my post about my trip there coasterbill, but you would have been proud of my son's stance on the Sky Ride!

Anything they can do at that park to thwart line jumpers would be fantastic... Assuming they actually checked them and followed through with it! Superman is the ride that I've found really needs policing in that regard in my opinion...

I'm wondering if some of the issues Lightning Rod are having are heat/temperature related? Talking about sensors and all... I just was wondering, because I know it was running pretty well earlier this season, and then all of a sudden, as the temperatures down there no doubt got warmer, it's having issues again (as it did all last Summer). And last year, I know it ran the best during the Fall season. That's when I was able to get my rides in on it, and it was running consistently well during that time. Just a thought...

A night ride on Millennium Force, for a fantastic finish to my day at The Point Friday!

Kind of piggybacking on what the others above have said, I think I'd go to Carowinds this year. KD has the better coaster collection currently in my opinion, but will be getting an RMC next year. Carowinds has the best coaster overall in my opinion (Fury), and you won't have to spend the extra money on Fast Lane, as lines are pretty non-existent outside of Nighthawk this time of year. So if you have the ability to return to the area next year, I'd wait and do KD next year, and Carowinds this year. I know I postponed my Virginia trip a year, to catch RMC Hurler next year for that very reason.

Yeah, the reality of the matter, is that Michigan's Adventure COULD be SO much more than it is... Anybody who says it's in the middle of nowhere, doesn't know the area very well, or the areas that surround it. Grand Rapids isn't very far away, and is the second largest city in Michigan, and unlike the largest, is actually thriving, and is on the way UP! The entire West coast of Michigan is a HUGE tourist area in the Summer! MiA is "meh", because Cedar Fair wants it to be that way, not because that's all it can be... I've always heard TGE referred to as Six Flags' MiA, so larrygator's comment really sheds some light on a) the fact that maybe TGE is better than I thought, and b) MiA is even worse in the personality and character department than I realized!

The bolded is very true, even if I found the ride rougher than I expected, for one people raved (no pun intended) about so much beforehand! And yes, everything he said is true. Holiwood Nights is simply an amazing enthusiast event all around. I've never been to Coastermania, and frankly, have no real desire to go, as a lifelong Cedar Point attendee. But Holiwood Nights? Every few years, it's a must do! Next year, I'm taking my kids, for sure!

Yeah, and maybe one year Cedar Fair will sell MiA, allegedly their highest profit margin park, to independent owners who would actually give a care about re-investment of profits like the Koch's or Ed Hart!

I went before the new ownership bought the park, and quite enjoyed my day there! (It was also before Steel Hawg, unfortunately...) It sounds like it's not the same park as it was then, sadly... Cornball Express is still one of my favorite wooden coasters! That thing was so unexpectedly NUTS!!!

I think the flume being tucked away a little is why I've missed it before, because I actually really like old school flume rides. I'll definitely be sure to make the effort to check it out next time I'm there. I also recommend going back to get many more rides on Voyage, and get some crazy awesome night rides on it, because it really comes alive then! I know you're not big on enthusiast events, Bill (for good reason!), but I do recommend checking out Holiwood Nights sometime, as it's a fantastic event, and more than worth the money, and the ERT is bonkers! That's how I've been able to marathon Voyage at night to my heart's content, and they have a lot of other fun things thrown in, too! Again, glad you had a good time! I'm looking forward to hearing how your day at KK is going today!

^You're pretty much dead-on in your assessment! Zach's Zoomer is easily the third best coaster in the park in my opinion, and could be as good as #2, depending on one's assessment of Wolverine Wildcat (I think it's only ok). The steel coasters are all various shades of terrible, and yes, being the best SLC, is VERY faint praise indeed! But Shivering Timbers IS truly an outstanding coaster, as you said, so it still makes MiA a park worth going to every so often! And if you're into water parks, the water park is very nice as well. Sadly, I think we've all given up on ever getting a steel coaster of any real significance or worth, so that'll probably continue to be a gaping hole in the park's repertoire...